Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli was being questioned as to they had it in them or not to play the shortest format. But now, as it stands, they would be on the flight to the USA.

Mumbai: With the deadline for the announcement of the T20 World Cup squad nearing, speculations are rife over who makes it and who misses out. Several rumours are doing the rounds as expected as it is a country where cricket is like a religion and the cricketers are literally worshipped. A few months back, the spots of veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli was being questioned as to they had it in them or not to play the shortest format. But now, as it stands, they would be on the flight to the USA.

Here are the rumours that are doing the rounds days ahead of the squad announcement. Some of them or all of them could eventually turn out to be true.

Rohit-Virat to OPEN: A few days back, there were reports that a meeting took place between India captain, the chief selector and the coach and it was decided that Kohli would open with Rohit. A few hours after this report went public, Rohit rubbished the fact that there was any such meeting.

Rinku Singh to be DROPPED: Yes, there was a PTI report that suggested Hardik Pandya is an ‘automatic selection’ and Rinku Singh would be in a toss-up with Shivam Dube. These are baseless rumours and there is no truth to the fact that Rinku would be ignored.

Mayank Yadav For T20 WC: After the LSG pacer bowled the fastest ball in the history of the IPL, there were talks that Mayank would be on the flight to the US. But then, he picked up a niggle and has not been playing regularly. Even if the rumour was true, the injury has surely botched up his chances.

Dinesh Karthik as Wicketkeeper: It is far-fetched but truly Karthik’s heroics at the IPL must have forced the selectors to at least give it a thought. Rishabh Pant is the frontrunner in this category as per multiple reports.

India’s Predicted Squad:

Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill/Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma. /Sanju Samson (WK), Ravi Bishnoi